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Sex is Blind: Some Preliminary Theoretical Formulations

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Abstract

Is the gender disparity in sexual experience the same for men and women who are blind? Perhaps being impervious to visual cues would generate restrained sexual appetites in both genders. Our ethnographic findings suggest otherwise; the gender disparity persists even among men and women who are blind. The findings are discussed in terms of the cross-species research on multiple cues underlying mate selection, the combined utility of mate selection traits, and the physiological significance of sexual pleasure. Brief excerpts from our interviews are also included.

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Acknowledgments

The authors wish to thank the UCLA Undergraduate Sex is Blind Research Team for helping to get this project off the ground. The members include Elaine Codd, Amelia Evert, Paymon Jalali, Veronika Meier, Tyler Rudin, and Diana Wang. The authors also wish to thank Don Symons, Bianca Acevedo, Andrew Christensen and Terri Conley for their comments on the manuscript.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Psychology, University of California, Los Angeles, CA, USA

    Paul R. Abramson

  2. Audio Eyes, Los Angeles, CA, USA

    Rick Boggs

  3. Los Angeles Radio Reading Service, Los Angeles, CA, USA

    E. Jolie Mason

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  1. Paul R. Abramson
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  2. Rick Boggs
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  3. E. Jolie Mason
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Correspondence to Paul R. Abramson.

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Abramson, P.R., Boggs, R. & Jolie Mason, E. Sex is Blind: Some Preliminary Theoretical Formulations. Sex Disabil 31, 393–402 (2013). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11195-013-9313-9

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11195-013-9313-9

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